


Take Our Time

by sins_not_tragedies



Series: Fade To Black [1]
Category: Hades (Video Game 2018)
Genre: Anal Sex, Banter, Bottom Zagreus (Hades Video Game), Canon Compliant, Canon Dialogue, Feelings, First Time, Fluff and Smut, Idiots in Love, M/M, Missing Scene, Nectar As Lube, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Porn with Feelings, Temperature Play, Top Thanatos (Hades Video Game), Voice Kink, headcanon dump, i mean....one of them is constantly on fire so, really just a lot of feelings, some of it anyway, spoilers for romance route
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:15:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28784787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sins_not_tragedies/pseuds/sins_not_tragedies
Summary: Thanatos is waiting for Zagreus in his room.(Filling in that fade-to-black scene.)
Relationships: Thanatos/Zagreus (Hades Video Game)
Series: Fade To Black [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2110395
Comments: 10
Kudos: 286





	Take Our Time

**Author's Note:**

> ok this ended up a lot longer than i intended it to
> 
> i don't even have a foot fetish but supergiant devs held a gun to my head so there's a tiny bit of foot stuff in here
> 
> anyway i would die for these two

Zagreus steps past the threshold of his chambers, shaking the last of the Styx out of his hair. Another failed escape. At least it hadn't been to Theseus this time. He gives a short huff. Normally, he would take a quick look at the Fated List, and be off again, but this time he's stopped in his tracks.

  
"Thanatos...! I'd ask you to come in, but....you're already here. It's really good to see you," Zagreus says, the frustration from his recent failure vanishing, replaced by bubbling affection

Thanatos stands — really _stands_ , for once — near the center of Zagreus' room, scythe still in hand. Zagreus casts a glance around his chambers, briefly embarrassed by the state of them. Maybe his Father had a point about cleaning up.

Thanatos' voice snaps him back to attention. "Just tell me one thing, Zagreus. Did you really mean what you told me before, that...maybe we ought to....take our time?" His voice is quieter, shier than usual. His golden eyes flit to Zagreus', holding them. They shine brightly, maybe brighter than he's even seen them, pupils dilated.

 _Oh._

Zagreus feels like the wind's been knocked out of him. He takes a moment to wet his suddenly dry lips before crossing the distance between them. He knows he's scorching the tile as he walks, feet flaring hotter than usual. His heart thumps hard in his chest.

"I just...don't mean to push you, Than," he begins, watching Thanatos carefully. "I know all this is kind of a lot. And I wanted you to know...this isn't some impulsive thing for me."

Thanatos' black cape billows, whipped up by some nonexistant breeze. But his posture relaxes slightly, and his eyes gleam.

Zagreus is close, now. He puts a hand on Thanatos' unadorned shoulder, in what he hopes is a reassuring gesture. "I'll wait for you however long it takes," Zagreus finishes. He offers his full, mis-matched, undivided gaze, and Thanatos accepts it, switching his attention between Zagreus' two-toned eyes.

Thanatos scoffs. "You have no concept of which impulses to act upon, and which to keep in check," he chides — gently, though — nodding to the balcony from which Zagreus starts his escapes. "You say you'll wait, well, let me ask you this: What are you waiting for?"

Zagreus blinks, slowly, trying to register the words.

Thanatos steps closer, nearly chest-to-chest. "What are you waiting for?" he repeats, a little desperate, "I'm here, already. Right...?"

A pause. A pause, as the cold from Thanatos' skin mingles with the heat in Zagreus'. As Zagreus is increasingly aware of Thanatos' tall stature, his certainty.

The words finally hit Zagreus, and then their full implication.

Despite himself he lets out a small laugh, the flames from his feet now licking up his calves.

"Than," Zagreus says, overwhelmed with love, smiling foolishly, "oh, you're right."

Carefully, as if to avoid scaring either of them, Zagreus moves his hand from Thanatos' shoulder to cupping his face. Zagreus marvels at that face: dusky gray-purple skin, as smooth and cold as the marble mortals carve in the likenesses of the gods.

"Zagreus...?" Thanatos asks, voice high.

"Thanatos," Zagreus mirrors, rubbing a thumb along his cheekbones, noticing the slight sparkle in his dark skin.

"May I undress you?"

Zagreus feels his heart stopped for a moment, struck by the arrow of Eros himself. He chokes out a buoyant giggle.

"Blood and darkness, Than, I thought you'd never ask," Zagreus says, playfully tugging Thanatos towards him, towards his bed. 

For once, Thanatos sets down his scythe. He removes his gauntlets, revealing the far more gentle hands underneath. They divest of their varying adornments and armor, stripping down to fabric and skin, before Zagreus returns his hands to Thanatos' shoulders. Thanatos leans forward, ducking his head slightly, in a gesture Zagreus understands immediately and appreciates immensely. Zagreus still has to stand on his toes to accept the invitation, letting their lips meet.

The first kiss is blessedly sweet, a loving release of countless decades of proximity, of not-quites. A simple press of lips — something so ironically mortal — cracks the minor gods from their respective shells, finally bringing their pining to a head. The mingling of Thanatos' dead cold and Zagreus' bright heat evens out into mellow warmth, and Zagreus sighs as Thanatos holds him tighter, pulling him closer. 

Zagreus continues backwards as the kiss deepens, keeping Thanatos clutched to him as they shuffle to the bed. Open mouthed, panting kisses, their cold-on-hot tongues equal parts careful and sloppy. Zagreus wanted to commit this to memory, the taste and sensation of Thanatos' lips against his. There's slight numbing from cold, and that strange hair-raising tingling that Thanatos seemed to simply emanate. Zagreus is completely lost, both in the kiss and wondering how mortals could ever _fear_ Death, when his knees hit the edge of the bed, and he stumbles slightly, practically pulling Thanatos on top of him.

The bed creaks under their weight, and Zagreus reminds himself to order a new one from the House Contractor. Worse, it _continues_ creaking as they adjust their position.

Zagreus is on his way to feeling mortified, but then —

Thanatos _chuckles._

Zagreus can't remember the last time he'd heard Thanatos genuinely chuckle. It was one of the sweetest sounds he's ever heard, far better than anything from Orpheus or his muse.

And Zagreus finds himself giggling, too.

Between long kisses, between quiet laughs, Zagreus manages to speak up. "What's so funny, Than?"

Thanatos, still smiling — _gods_ , what a smile — shifts his weight enough that the bed creaks again. 

"The Prince of the Underworld can't afford a bed that doesn't squeak," he says, and glances around the chamber. "Or a door, evidently."

"Hey, I'm working on it!" Zagreus protests.

Thanatos cuts him off with another kiss, this time catching his lower lip between his teeth.

Zagreus squirms at that, face flushing slightly. Thanatos makes his way along Zagreus' jaw, feather-light and freezing like the snow of the Overworld. His hands are eager, too, unfastening Zagreus' decorative belt and carefully pulling the loose fabric from his torso.

The gentle teasing Zagreus can manage, but then Thanatos bites at his neck — playfully, experimentally — and Zagreus moans, tugging eagerly at Thanatos' clothing.

Thanatos pulls back, smirking a little. "What I mean is, you're going to have to be quiet."

"What, am I that deafeningly loud, Than?" Zagreus says with false indignation. "I like to think I'm quite soft-spoken."

"Hypnos would never let either of us the end of it. And I can't imagine your father would be especially happy about it, either," Thanatos says, running a finger across Zagreus' collarbone and down his sternum. Zagreus shudders.

"Orpheus is singing right now, and Nyx is off somewhere else," Zagreus reassures him. "But, yes, I'll try to keep myself quiet. If you'll do the same."

Thanatos sits back slightly, staring at Zagreus' half-dressed form. He brushes his bangs out of his eyes and, unknowingly, idly, he licks his lips. "How should we do this, then?"

Zagreus props himself up on his elbows. "Well, I'm honestly up for anything. Meg can attest to that. But...I'd like to let you lead, if that's alright? And," he squeezes Thanatos' still-clothed thighs, already straddling him, "you're doing a _great_ job of it so far."

Thanatos lets out a sound that's somewhere between a gasp and an indignant _humph_ , cheeks sparkling. He grinds teasingly against Zagreus as payback, who practically hisses.

"You're turning red," Thanatos remarks curiously, brushing a knuckle against Zagreus' cheek and rolling his hips again. 

"Wh — Than, have you never seen me blush before?" Zagreus asks, trying to keep his voice steady. 

"I've never had the chance to ask." The hand that isn't at Zagreus' face begins tracing lazy circles on his chest. Zagreus twitches under the gentle touch.

"I have red blood, like a mortal. Sometimes...like when I'm nervous, or, uh, excited...it shows through my skin. It also makes my skin warmer," Zagreus presses Thanatos' hand to the redness rising in his face, "like this."

Thanatos' eyebrows knit. "Is it...a good thing?"

He's stopped moving now, apparently apprehensive. As much as Zagreus would like things to move along, Thanatos is too endearing for him to get impatient.

"Yes. Yes, it's a good thing," Zagreus chuckles, leaning the heat of his cheek into Thanatos' palm. "Do you have any more questions about my abnormal anatomy before we get started?"

He's half joking. Thanatos, evidently, is not.

"Actually..." Thanatos says, taking his hand to Zagreus' thick black hair. He cards through it gently.

Zagreus presses a kiss to Thanatos' wrist. "Do you like my hair? I'm pretty proud of it, myself."

"Your laurels, Zag," Thanatos murmurs, a little reverent, "they're beautiful."

Zagreus feels a small jolt as Thanatos' frigid fingers pass through the incorporeal leaves. The flames flare as the compliment sparks down Zagreus' spine. "Careful! Careful, Than, they're hot."

"I can't be burned, Zagreus. That's why I always beat you in Asphodel," Thanatos says, not at all dissuaded. 

"Hey! I've beaten you five times in Asphodel."

Thanatos continues stroking his hair and laurels, ignoring Zagreus' defiance, "I hadn't realized your laurels were made of flame. I suppose that's specific to you and your father?"

The attention to his divine crown, accompanied by Thanatos' weight still on top of him, has Zagreus growing a little desperate. "Just me and Father, as far as I know. I inherited the fire laurels and flaming feet, along with a stubborn streak and a whole host of — "

Zagreus yelps. The bite on his neck isn't so playful this time; it's about as hungry and worked up as Zagreus feels.

"Th-Than!" Zagreus manages before Thanatos forces him flat onto the bedding and holds a finger to his lips.

"What happened to being quiet, _Prince_?" Thanatos taunts.

Dizzying heat floods Zagreus' system, striking him with a full-body shudder. "Say that again?"

Thanatos is too busy kissing his frigid lips down Zagreus' front, and Zagreus has to tug his silky, short-shorn hair to regain his attention.

"Than, say that again, please," Zagreus begs.

"What...'Prince'?" 

Zagreus shivers again, and it's response enough.

"Of all the...Zagreus — _Prince_ Zagreus — does it truly arouse you that much hearing your own title?"

"Yes. From you, yes," Zagreus says.

"Hm. I'll keep it in mind," he muses, returning to his slow exploration of Zagreus' torso. 

Zagreus does his best to stay still, appreciating the cold against him, the tracing of his solid musculature, the unintentional tickles. He keeps his hands occupied stroking Thanatos' ethereal white hair, trying not to grip too tightly when Thanatos alternates his kisses with bites.

Much to Zagreus' chagrin, Thanatos draws away again, sitting back up to kneeling. Without a heat sink pressing down on him, Zagreus realizes just how hot he's running. Flames are licking up his calves and his laurels are crackling. Thanatos squeezes one of Zagreus' pecs experimentally.

"I didn't expect you to be such a tease," Zagreus says, squirming a little.

He feels he could die right there, with Death — clothes now untidied, cheeks sparkling in his own celestial version of a blush — pinning him down. 

"What happened to taking our time?" Thanatos asks in mock-innocence, cupping Zagreus' pecs. "Maybe you should learn some patience, _Prince_."

Zagreus is about to make a smart reply, but instead bites his own tongue to keep from keening as Thanatos laves a long, wet lick up his cleavage.

"I want to take my time with you, Zagreus," Thanatos sounds breathless as he skims his fingers up and down Zagreus' sides, "To learn everything about your divine form. I want to taste your heartbeat, your sweat. I want to feel your burning skin against mine."

The low timbre of Thanatos' voice alone has Zagreus gripping his sheets, as of yet untouched.

Thanatos palms Zagreus meanly. "Blood and darkness, _Prince Zagreus_ , I want _you_."

"You're going to kill me, Than," Zagreus groans. "Gods, get the rest of your clothes off. Let me see you."

"Undress me, then," Thanatos says, eyes shining with lust, unmounting Zagreus and giving him the freedom to move.

So Zagreus does. He unclasps Thanatos' belt and casts it aside, then strips him of his chiton, baring his torso. Thanatos' skin seems to glitter, silver-gray catching torchlight as the toned muscles beneath shift and tense under Zagreus' wide-eyed stare and shaky touch. Thanatos stares back, expectant, perhaps a little sheepish with how obviously he's showing through his leggings.

"Hold on, let me..." Zagreus scoots away awkwardly. He reaches and digs around behind his bed before producing a bottle of nectar and tossing it to Thanatos.

Thanatos catches it in one hand, but continues staring at Zagreus with fervor.

For a moment Zagreus is worried he's ruined things somehow, until Thanatos speaks again.

"Your feet, Zagreus."

"My feet?" Zagreus repeats. "Oh, right, another aspect of my abnormal anatomy."

"Do they burn?" Thanatos asks, crawling forward.

Zagreus swallows under his piercing golden gaze. "Uh...I would assume so. They can melt snow. But I can't say I've spent much time testing exactly what they're capable of."

Thanatos settles between Zagreus' legs and observes the flames. "I want to feel them. Against my chest."

His voice is even as ever, but his eyes are fierce.

"I don't want to hurt you," Zagreus says, hesitant.

"Like I said, I can't be burned." Thanatos insists. His eyes soften slightly. "I'll tell you if it's too much."

Zagreus pauses, considers briefly. The mental image of pressing any of his skin to Thanatos' firm chest has him stirring in interest, let alone the manifestation of his fiery spirit. He concedes. "Okay."

Leaning back, once again creaking the bed, Zagreus lifts his legs enough to plant the soles of his flaming feet against Thanatos' bare torso. Zagreus gasps at the cold as Thanatos hisses at the heat. The spike in Zagreus' heartbeat stokes the fire higher, leaving tongues of flame licking up to Thanatos' collarbones. Brilliant red-orange against gray-purple. Zagreus takes a moment to drink it in, the details of it. The chill against his feet, solid but with the rise and fall of Thanatos' chest, lungs working despite lack of heartbeat. The glittering of Thanatos' skin and its soft blue-green glow mingling with yellow fire. Heat coils low in his belly, growing harder to ignore but currently sated by the awe-struck look on Thanatos' beautiful face.

"You're warm," Thanatos comments blankly, as if it's all the thought he's capable of.

Zagreus chuckles and pokes a burning heel into the space just beneath Thanatos' ribs. "You're _cold_."

Thanatos clenches his teeth at that, at the jab of fire into his soft flesh. So, naturally, Zagreus drags his heel lower, along Thanatos' abs and past his navel, until it's pressed deliberately against the jut of his still-clothed erection. They're both lucky Zagreus' holy flames can't actually catch fire to anything.

"How's that feel, Than?" Zagreus can't help but smirk at the little whine that earns him.

" _Hot_ ," Thanatos grits out eloquently, uncorking the bottle of nectar with a pop. 

Zagreus has to bite his tongue as Thanatos, visibly desperate, pours glistening nectar down his front and onto his palm while grinding against the heat of Zagreus' heel. Thanatos eagerly strips off his leggings, fully revealing himself, hard and weeping.

Watching Thanatos slick himself up with the honey-colored liquid forces Zagreus to switch to worrying his lower lip in an effort to not bite off his own tongue. He wants to moan and babble and cry out, let Thanatos know he _loves_ this, loves watching him and feeling him for the first time.

Thanatos ruts a few more times into Zagreus' burning soles as if he simply can't help himself, eyes closed in either deep focus or the exact opposite, lips parted slightly, arms tense as he grips the blankets.

Maybe someday Zagreus would let him finish that way, grinding sloppily against the flames of hell, but at the moment the wet-cold against his immortal fire is edging into overstimulation, and he aches.

"Than... _please_ ," Zagreus manages, voice as utterly broken as he feels.

Thanatos halts with some effort. One of his golden eyes peeks open. Zagreus shudders under its love-drunk gaze.

Apparently understanding the plea, Thanatos nudges Zagreus' legs aside and makes for his waistband. He's is no longer intentionally teasing with his touches, but he still takes time to trace the trail of dark hair beginning under Zagreus' navel before tugging off the remainder of his clothes.

Zagreus opens his mouth to sigh but shuts it again so fast his teeth clatter as Thanatos drizzles sweet nectar over him.

"You're bright red, Zag," Thanatos comments breathlessly. "Are you alright?"

Zagreus covers his mouth and makes do with a nod, the pleasurable tingling of the nectar driving out any capability of coherent speech.

Thanatos' eyes are wide, drinking in Zagreus' quivering form, but Zagreus can't lock eyes with him now, it's too much and not nearly enough, so he screws his eyes shut and bites his thumb.

And he's glad he does, because the chill of the slick intrusion makes him writhe. 

"Good?" Thanatos asks.

" _More_ ," he groans, muffled by his own hand.

Annoyingly, Thanatos does things properly. He works Zagreus slowly, testing, making sure he's prepared before actually proceeding.

Eventually, Thanatos guides Zagreus' legs to wrap around his waist, burning ankles crossing at the small of his back. Dimly, Zagreus notes just how gently — _sweetly_ — Thanatos treats him, despite their mutual need.

"Zag, look at me," Thanatos says, quiet and wanting. "I want you to look at me."

Obediently, Zagreus blinks his eyes open. Thanatos stares back at him, hungrily, but with an undying fondness that cuts Zagreus to his core. His sharp face is framed by mussed white hair, his lower lip bitten raw, his cheeks darkened and glittering like the velvet nights of the Overworld, the cthonic blush is visible down to his chest. The full expanse of his skin, his torso, his muscles, all taut from their shared tension. He plants a palm on either side of Zagreus to gain leverage.

"Zagreus?" Thanatos asks. His voice is low, but it's dark, intense, spoken between heavy breaths. The implication is clear, though he's apparently too shy to ask the question outright.

Zagreus wants to be loud, shout something he'd regret later, something like _"Yes, gods, please, I've never wanted anything more, I love you, I love you, I love you,"_ like a litany, but all he can manage quietly is " _Yes_ ", and it's the last coherent thing he says before biting back down on his thumb.

He clenches reflexively at the tingling cold, and Thanatos returns the favor with a solid thrust. Zagreus arches off the bed, pressing their bodies flush together, pale on dark, hot on cold, life on death. He feels fingers comb through his hair and he wonders if Thanatos is going to yank like Meg does, but he gets that same bizarre jolt as before, and he realizes Thanatos is caressing his laurels again, which is worse, so much worse for his raw and open heart.

Thanatos leads, just as Zagreus requested, the bed creaking under them. His rhythm starts slow but turns erratic fast, given how far along they both are, and once he finds the right angle, Zagreus can't follow a rhythm anymore. He's a blushing, writhing mess, and the hand not covering his mouth is grasping for purchase on the sheets, on Thanatos' arm, shoulder, thigh. 

"Your heartbeat is speeding up. You must be getting close," Thanatos murmurs between gasps, remarkably quiet, talking Zagreus through it all like he's not also coming apart at the seams. 

But Thanatos is right — Zagreus is close, his leaking cock pinned between their bodies and aching for friction.

"Gods above and below, Zag, you're so warm," Thanatos says, voice cracking, eyes fluttering shut. "Y-You're so beautiful."

Zagreus wishes he could respond in kind, but a cold hand wraps around his slick length. He bites the skin of his thumb to keep his moan quiet. The stifled sound is rewarded with an uneven stroke.  
Zagreus digs his burning heels into the small of Thanatos' back, forcing him forward, deeper — wordlessly begging for more, more. He's wound tight, tighter than tight, all tension and blush and ash and sweat now. 

Thanatos is able to give Zagreus two final, messy, mindless strokes before tipping over the edge.

"P-Prince _Zagreus_ ," Thanatos slurs softly, reverently, as his body goes rigid.

That's enough — the last bit of friction, the sound of his title cried out like a prayer or a swear, the sight of Thanatos' pleasure-wracked form and _feeling_ him. 

Zagreus convulses, teeth splitting skin as he chokes back Thanatos' name on his finishing breath. He tastes blood, but he's never cared less.

Thanatos' whole body is shaking, but he leans in for one last kiss, licking the fresh blood from Zagreus' lips before collapsing completely.

Riding out the aftershocks, trying to regain his senses, he's dimly aware of Thanatos pulling out and rolling over to lay next to him. Their fingers intertwine, clasped hands resting comfortably between their exhausted forms. Zagreus, holy flames and breathing returning to normal, makes a mental note to gift his next nectar to Aphrodite.

"Good?" Zagreus asks, looking to his deathly partner, all cold and calm next to him. The bed is covered in ashes, scattered like petals.

"Good," Thanatos concurs with a relaxed sigh. 

There's the familiar flash of green-blue glow, and they're clean. Someday Zagreus will have to ask if it's true that mortals have to drench themselves in water to achieve the same effect.

Minutes pass in the quiet room. Zagreus feels his restlessness returning.

"Hey, Than, look...speak up, already, I don't like it when you're quiet for too long, what's on your mind?" Zagreus says, sitting up to rest his chin on his hand. To his disappointment, Thanatos is already getting up.

Thanatos looks over his shoulder as he pulls back on his leggings, works on getting dressed.

"A lot of things. And you will have to grow to like it, Zag. Or, what I mean is....don't take my silence the wrong way, all right?" Thanatos says, and awkward as the words are, he's smiling warmly. "I'd better get going, though, I'm way behind on work, but...see you again. If that's alright."

Thanatos finishes clicking his armor back into place, the golden wings at his shoulder. He strikes a dramatic figure, to be sure. Imposing but not frightening. Zagreus stares, fondly now though, his hunger sated for the time being.

  
"It is. It is."

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading,,,,,,,
> 
> i plan to fill in the Meg fade-to-black next :)


End file.
